Given the time period, it’s easy to see The Teacher as a satirical critique of the communist regime. Through the parent-teacher conference in a small high school, director Jan Hřebejk depicts a community shaken by the placement of a new teacher aligned with the Party. The new hire in question is nasty. While outwardly amiable, the subtle way she tries to extract favors, from simple repairs to hard-to-get medicine, feels terribly slimy as the kid’s grades are held in the balance. Zuzana Mauréry balances that two-faced dynamic with excellent skill, making her character someone we’d love to hate. And it all culminates into an intriguing ending that proves that while corruption has flourished under the regime, the following administration hasn’t done much to address it. The Teacher is a hilarious black comedy that isn’t afraid to bite.
"If The Teacher fails to convey the particulars of its climactic uprising, Hřebejk's lesson plan -- a needle-sharp take on the perils of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons -- still touches a nerve."
— David Ehrlich
"Although dealing with weighty matters, Jarchovsky's script (which is based on a real-life incident he experienced during primary school) is leavened with welcome humor and irony."
— Alissa Simon
The principal of an elementary school calls a special parents meeting after it’s alleged that the seemingly empathetic and kindly-looking teacher Mrs. Drazděchová uses her students to manipulate their parents.
Bratislava, 1983. Teacher Maria Drazdechova is assigned to a school in the area, and due to her association with the Communist Party, the students, parents, and her colleagues are shaken when she manipulates them into doing favors in exchange for test answers and good grades.
The protagonist, of course. The script and Mauréry’s depiction rings so true to the character, that you’ll be reminded of the very unscrupulous teachers you might have met in school.
Gosh, this teacher gave me traumatic flashbacks of school...
